09 December, 2009

H1N1 (swine flu) weekly highlights: December 2 - December 8, 2009

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that "Disease activity has peaked and is declining in North America and has either recently peaked or is currently peaking in much of western and northern Europe." In other good news, WHO also reports no signs of widespread resistance to Tamiflu.

Nevertheless, the WHO has clearly stated it is too soon to call the pandemic over. The global death toll from H1N1 rose to 8,768 as Cyprus, Albania, and the Gaza Strip recorded their 1st H1N1 deaths. The Netherlands saw their first Tamiflu-resistant death.

In the United States, only half of all states reported widespread flu activity, down from 43 states only two weeks ago. England reported new cases were half of the previous week's number.


* Please note that this post will conclude our weekly H1N1 blogs. While the pandemic is far from over, reports of first cases and deaths are less common as H1N1 has spread throughout much of the globe. Numerous H1N1 vaccines have been developed in countries all over the world, and the vaccine shortages seen earlier this year have abated.

HealthMap continues to track H1N1 and all other infectious diseases at http://www.healthmap.org. For the latest disease alerts, you can also follow us on twitter. We hope the H1N1 blogs have been informative and helpful.


Photo courtesy of: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/04/AR2009120402611.html?hpid=sec-health

03 December, 2009

H1N1 (swine flu) weekly highlights: November 25 - December 1, 2009

Montenegro and Libya reported their 1st H1N1 deaths.

South Korea reported a suspect case of H1N1 reinfection in a young girl.

Reports have stated that the United States has likely reached its peak for H1N1, as only 32 of 50 states are now reporting widespread influenza activity.

While H1N1 may have peaked in parts of the Northern hemisphere, the number of deaths worldwide jumped by over 1,000 during the past week, reaching more than 7,800.

Transmission of the virus remains high in East Asia and Canada.

A large outbreak of H1N1 had been feared to occur during this year's Haj season, however only 73 cases and five deaths were reported.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported an increase in serious pneumococcal infections associated with H1N1 cases in the United States. The CDC also released new figures stating that as many as 34 million may have already been infected.

Finland confirmed human-to-pig transmission of the H1N1 virus, while a pig herd in Indonesia was also reported to be infected.

Photo: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5igd_tCu9zIdryTTRkslBF6I39nxw